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New 12 volt shorelline fridge


Dave Bebb

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Hi all we have just bought a new 12 volt fridge for our narrow boat ,as we have a 240 one running through a 3,000 watts inverter and going to fit it today ,the question is do I have to leave it when I have wired it up to settle or just turn it on straightaway thanks 

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There is a theory that if they have been placed on their side or shaken up during transit that they should be left a while to "settle", dunno if thats true, but I assume its been stood up in the box on the boat for this "while" anyway.

............Dave

 

oops cross posted with Nick, luckily we are in agreement.

Edited by dmr
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Let it settle for a couple of hours. 

The refrigerant is a liquefied gas. If any has made its way into the compressor, and you turn on, you will find that you cannot compress a liquid and may damage the compressor.

Allowing it to settle lets the liquid refridgerant run back out of the compressor.

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  • I have read the instructions know mention of leaving it to settle,that's why I asked you people that's I will let it settle for awhile before switching it on to be on the safe side thanks for all your comments Dave 
Edited by Dave Bebb
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When we use to sell refrigerators we always left them to stand before switching on, as others have said it lets the liquids sort themselves out including the oil in with the refrigerant to lubricate the compressor. Well that was the case in my youth.

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I concur with Cuthound. Liquid refrigerant in the compressor will not do it any good. In theory you should have no problems if the fridge has been transported in the 'upright' position as clearly stated on the box. So letting it settle for a while will be OK. I recall in my early days as an apprentice electrician, when fridges were fairly rare, one contract involved installing fridges, and being in a block of high rise flats, themselves fairly rare, the fridges had to be laid in a certain position and left for ten minutes (can't remember exactly) but the logic is easy to see, then turned on another face, then a stood up, then another face, and then stood up in the final position for ten minute before switching on. This procedure 'rolled' the liquid into the right place. 

These instructions were clearly explained in the service manual at the time (I think it was Fridgidare).  In your case, if it could be a problem, it is likely to have a warning somewhere - where if the 'upright' label has been observed at all times no warning is required.

 

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5 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

When we use to sell refrigerators we always left them to stand before switching on, as others have said it lets the liquids sort themselves out including the oil in with the refrigerant to lubricate the compressor. Well that was the case in my youth.

You can remember that far back?

Phil 

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1 hour ago, Ex Brummie said:

The problem is with the compressor lubrication rather than the refrigerant. A few hours will let this settle before use. You wouldn't turn your generator on its side and expect it to run trouble free.

This is the correct answer. 

Nowt to do with the refrigerant - its the compressor that turns the gas into a liquid and is necessarily present at all times in the compressor.

The problem is the compressor's oil that lubricates the motor.  If this gets into the capillary (or TEV in some units) this will turn to wax shortly after beginning the cooling action, thus blocking said capillary tube, and preventing further refrigeration.  If the refrigerator has been laid down, say for transport, it needs to stand for at least 12 hrs, to allow any oil to drain back down into the compressor. before switching on.

  • Greenie 1
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31 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

So how does the lubricant know It has to stay in the compressor and how does the refrigerant get outsiide of the bit of the compressor that squeezes it to mix with the oil that lubricates it... 

Magic. 

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All sorted new 12 volt fridge in and working ,wired it up and put in place left it over night turned on next morning working fine ,just bought a new 12volt  avtex tv and avtex aerial  fitted them so now all 12 volt on the boat will not have to run the 3,000 watts inverter which took a lot out of my battery's  

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13 hours ago, Dave Bebb said:

All sorted new 12 volt fridge in and working ,wired it up and put in place left it over night turned on next morning working fine ,just bought a new 12volt  avtex tv and avtex aerial  fitted them so now all 12 volt on the boat will not have to run the 3,000 watts inverter which took a lot out of my battery's  

Your next task is to check whether the fridge interferes with radio or TV reception, it used to be a common and well known problem with Shoreline frdges, especially amongst sea sailors where the fridge iterfered with radio signals , requiring the fridge to be turned off during transmissions. The problem is easily resolved required by fitting an aluminium box around the control unit and whilst they were aware of the issue, they were very reluctant to rectify it. Eventually after reminding them that the interference issue meant that the fridge did not comply with the EU directive, they undertook the modification (on the boat) and the fridge was fine after that. That was back in 2010 so, hopefully, the shield is now fitted as standard.

Edited by David Schweizer
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